If you didn’t know, the two key characteristics of all fruit are as follows: they are derived from a plant and contain seeds. With this in mind, are you prepared to have your mind blown? Prepare to reexamine your entire understanding of fruits and vegetables. In fact, you’ve probably been mistaking certain fruits for vegetables your entire life! Don’t believe us? Here are ten shockingly undercover fruits masquerading around as vegetables. 

1. The Sneaky Tomato

Let’s start off with something more commonly known. Yes, the tomato is indeed a fruit. As an essential ingredient in our pizzas, salads, and pasta, this food comes from the flower of a plant and houses many seeds that you’ve probably come across. Crossing off both the two key characteristics of a fruit, yup, that means tomatoes qualify as a fruit!

Photo by Avin CP on Unsplash

2. Avocado, the Green Imposter

Surprise! After all the avocado toast you’ve consumed, are you surprised to learn you’ve been eating a fruit? This creamy, smooth, and heart-healthy food is not a veggie after all - these green gems are actually single-seeded berries. I guess that makes your beloved guacamole a fruit salad?

Photo by Gil Ndjouwou on Unsplash 

3. The Peculiar Pepper

Whether it's a sweet or spicy pepper, they all classify as fruits. Just like tomatoes, peppers grow from the flowering part of the plant and contain numerous seeds. So remember the next time you’re biting into a spicy jalapeno, it’s actually a fruit making you sweat!

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash 

4. Cucumber, the Cool Misconception

If you’ve ever munched on these cool and crisp garden “veggies” paired with some tangy ranch, it’ll come as a shock to learn these are actually fruits. Again, the seeds are a big giveaway! But seriously, who knew fruits could pair so well with ranch?

Photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash 

5. Olives, the Unexpected Surprise

Whether you love them or hate them, olives are a staple of Mediterranean cuisine. Found as a topping on your pizza or a garnish to your cocktail, olives are indeed fruits. They grow from the blossom of a tree and contain a seed, classifying them as a fruit. 

Photo by Melina Kiefer on Unsplash 

6. The Subversive Zucchini

This one may come to you as a shock, but next on our list is the humble zucchini. Whether you’re baking zucchini bread or grilling it for a barbecue, it may be hard for you to wrap your head around the fact that this is in fact, a fruit. 

Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash 

7. Eggplant, the Purple Illusion

Eggplants might look like textbook vegetables, but don’t be fooled by their exterior. Growing from a flower and containing seeds inside, this is the next food to join our deceptive fruit club. 

Photo by PhotographyCourse on Unsplash 

8. Pumpkin, the Halloween Impersonator

As a Halloween staple, you’ll be interested to learn that the next time you’re carving out a pumpkin, you’re actually carving a fruit. Making a pumpkin pie? That’s a fruit pie, all right. While it may be the largest one you’ve ever seen, pumpkins are technically berries!

Photo by Mark Duffel on Unsplash 

9. Okra, the Slime-y Twist

Known for their unique texture, okra is a staple in many cuisines worldwide. If you’ve ever had a bite of delicious fried okra down in the Southern parts of America, you’ll be surprised to learn that this “finger-like” vegetable is actually a fruit too. 

Photo by Neha Deshmukh on Unsplash 

10. Corn, the Grains of Confusion

As the final shocker on this list, corn is indeed a fruit, not a vegetable or a grain. In fact, each kernel on the cob is technically an individual fruit. With such a sweet taste, this may not come as a surprise. Just know that the next time you add corn to your salad, you’re actually making a fruit salad!

Photo by Wouter Supardi Salari on Unsplash 

There you have it, ten fruits that you thought this whole time were vegetables. Who knew food could be so deceptive? Armed with this new perspective, you’re all prepped and ready to drop some fun fruit facts at your next dinner party.